Mounting for built-in door-closing arrangement

ABSTRACT

A frame of a door has a transversely extending upper frame member and a door is swingably mounted in the frame having an upper portion which is adjacent the frame member. A door-closing unit is accommodated in the frame member and has a shaft which projects downwardly towards the upper portion of the door and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position. Coupling means couples the shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned from its rest position in response to swinging of the door. The coupling means comprises a coupling member which extends along the upper portion of the door across the width of the latter, having one portion of greater height at one axial side of the shaft and an other portion of lesser height at the opposite axial side of the shaft. Connecting means connects the coupling member to the door so that it has limited freedom of displacement along the upper portion thereof, and displacing means is provided for effecting such displacement. A cross-head at least in part overlies the upper portion of the coupling member and has a height substantially corresponding to the difference between the greater and the lesser heights, and securing means secures the cross-head to the one portion of the door so that between this one portion and the cross-head the shaft is clamped against rotation relative to the door.

United States Patent Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney-Michael S. Striker Jentsch 51 Oct. 3, 1972 [54] MOUNTING FOR BUILT-IN DOOR- [57] ABSTRACT CLOSING ARRANGEMENT A frame of a door has a transversely extending upper [72] Inventor: Dietrich Jentsch, Ennepetal-Voerde, frame member and a door is swingably mounted in the Germany frame having an upper portion which is adjacent the frame member. A door-closing unit is accommodated [73] Asslgnee' 322:3: r fgx Ennepetal in the frame member and has a shaft which projects y downwardly towards the upper portion of the door [22] Filed: Oct. 8,1970 and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position. Coupling means couples {21] Appl' 79149 the shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned from its rest position in response to swinging of the door. [30] Foreign Application Pri rity D818 The coupling means'comprises a coupling member 4120 which extends along the upper portion of the door 1969 Germany P 19 52 across the width of the latter, having one portion of 9 4 8 16 130 greater height at one axial slde of the shaft and an g i 1 other portion of lesser height at the opposite axial side 4 8 of the shaft. Connecting means connects the coupling [58] Field at Search 16/71 9/38 member to the door so that it has limited freedom of l 56] References Cited displacement along the upper portion thereof, and displacing means is provided for effecting such displace- UNITED STATES PATENTS ment. A cross-head at least in part overlies the upper portion of the coupling member and has a height sub- 3l15665 2 g f stantially corresponding to the difference between the 3325942 8/1963 cejarlano 16/129 greater and the lesser heights, and securing means 3 941964 f [388 x secures the cross-head to the one portion of the door as refiner so that between this one portion and the cross-head FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS the shaft is clamped against rotation relative to the door. 1,055,483 1/1967 Great Britain ..49/388 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures MOUNTING FOR BUILT-IN DOOR-CLOSING ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a doorclosing arrangement, and more particularly to a mounting arrangement for a door-closing construction. Still more particularly the present invention is concerned with a coupling or mounting arrangement for coupling a built-in door-closing unit with the door which is to be closed.

It is known to provide built-in door-closing units which are not in themselves a part of the present invention and which therefore will be described only to the extent necessary to identify them to those skilled in the art. Such door-closing units are usually mounted in the upper cross member of the door frame with a shaft of the unit extending out of the upper cross member and being connected with the upper portion of the door which is to be closed. The shaft is tumable with reference to the door-closing unit and is biased by suitable means within the door-closing unit to a rest position. ln other words, the biasing means tends to turn the shaft to a rest position so that, when the shaft-which is coupled with the door-is turned in response to swinging movement of the door from closed to open position, the shaft is turned out of the rest position with the biasing means subsequently restoring it to the rest position, and consequently closing the door, when the force which has opened the door ceases to act upon the same.

To couple the shaft with the door so that the shaft is caused to rotate when the door moves from closed to open position, and vice versa, it is known to provide a coupling or mounting arrangement wherein a mounting element is secured to the upper portion of the door which faces the cross member of the frame, and the shaft of polygonal cross-section is clamped between a portion of this mounting member and a cross-head or retaining member, which are respectively located at opposite axial sides of the shaft and which are drawn together in a sense clamping the shaft between them by screws which connect them. The screws exert the connecting pressure between the two elements in the direction of thickness of the door, that is transversely to the width of the door, which latter dimensions corresponds to the elongation of the upper frame member between the two lateral uprights of the frame. An arrangement is provided, including a pressure-exerting screw, which is fast with the door or with an abutment which is in turn fast with the door, and which acts upon the mounting member or coupling member in a sense permitting limited freedom of displacement of the latter with reference to the upper portion of the door to thereby permit adjusting of the position of the door within the frame.

Experience has shown that although the adjusting arrangement permits ready adjusting of the mounting member with reference to the door, the danger constantly exists that damage might result in the mounting member or coupling member at that portion where the thickness of the latter-as seen also in the direction of thickness of the dooris weakened to provide a partial recess in which a part of the shaft of the door-closing unit is located, to be clarnpingly retained therein by the aforementioned bridging member. Also, the mounting or coupling member must be partly recessed to accommodate the bridging member itself because otherwise the latter would abut against the upper transverse frame portion. This difficulty having been realized, an attempt has been made to overcome it by so orienting the bridging member that its longitudinal dimension extends across the thickness of the door, that is transversely to the width of the door. Therefore, the connecting screws connecting it with the cooperating portion of the mounting member extend accordingly also in the direction of the width of the door rather than across the thickness of the latter. Such a construction was found satisfactory from the point of view of increasing the structural rigidity of the components involved, and thus reducing the possibility of damage to them. However, it was found that because of the necessary relative positions of the components, dictated by the need for shaft to be located at or near the axis about which the door turns, and for the various components to be located at the upper edge of the door adjacent the frame member, it was not readily possible to adjust the position of the coupling member and the door relative to one another, to thereby provide for free swinging of the door and proper positioning of the door with reference to the frame. This resulted primarily from the aforementioned considerations as well as from the fact that the adjusting means provided for this purpose had to be largely covered over with this construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide a coupling or mounting arrangement for a door which is to be connected with a built-in doorclosing unit, which arrangement is not possessed of these disadvantages.

Still more particularly an object of the invention is to provide such a mounting or coupling arrangement which is so constructed that even under extreme forces acting upon it its components will not be damaged due to inherent configurational weaknesses, and that the various components can be readily mounted and demounted, as well as readily adjusted.

ln pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the present invention resides, in an arrangement of the character here under discussion, in a frame having a transversely extending upper frame member and a door which'is swingably mounted in the frame and which has an upper portion adjacent the frame member. A doorclosing unit is accommodated in the frame member and has a shaft projecting downwardly towards the upper portion and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position. Further, I provide coupling means which couples the shaft with the door so that the shaft is turned from the rest position in response to swinging of the door.

According to the invention the coupling means comprises a coupling member extending along the upper portion of the door and having portion of greater height at one axial side of the shaft and other portion of lesser height at the opposite axial side of the shaft. Connecting means connects the coupling member to the door with limited freedom of displacement along the upper portion of the latter. Displacing means is provided for effecting such limited displacement. A cross-head at least in part overlies the other portion of the coupling member and has a height substantially corresponding to the difference between the greater and lesser heights, and securing means secures the cross-head to the aforementioned one portion in a sense clamping the shaft between them against rotation of the shaft relative to the door.

The fact that the coupling member itself has a portion which is of lesser height than another portion of it does not in any way disadvantageously affect the structural strength of the coupling member or the security of connection between the coupling member and the bridging member on the one hand, and the shaft of the door-closing unit on the other hand. Instead, it provides substantial advantages not obtainable and not present in the prior art. When the bridging member extends in known manner parallel to the width of the door, meaning that the screws or bolts connecting it with the coupling member are elongated in direction transversely to the width of the door across the thickness of the latter, then it is possible to provide a substantially larger solid portion of the coupling member than is possible in the prior-art construction, thereby avoiding the dangerous weakening of the coupling member.

The concept according to the present invention that the bridging member is to have a height corresponding substantially to the height differential between the higher and lower portions of the coupling member is partially advantageous if the bridging member extends transversely to the width of the door over its entire length, that is if the screws extend in the direction of width of the door, because in this case the adjustment of the positioning of the coupling member with reference to the door can be effected in known manner by providing a pressure screw threaded into a socket member which in turn is rigid with the door. In order to avoid difficulties in such a construction when the door is mounted in the frame, it is advantageous that the recess in which the shaft is partially accommodated and which is closed by the bridging member, is limited to that part of the coupling member which is located above the upper edge face of the socket for the pressure screw. This is, in fact, particularly advantageous if the bridging member is to be tightened, that is drawn against the cooperating portion of the coupling member, in the direction of the width of the door. In such a construction it is further advantageous and ad visable that the portion of lesser height of the coupling members, which extends below the bridging member, extend to the location of the pressure screw so that it can be engaged by the latter. This is a particularly simple construction because the pressure screw can now act upon the coupling member independently of the bridging member.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION .OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary partially sectioned sideelevational view of a door and that side of the associated frame where the door is hinged, with one embodiment of the invention incorporated in this figure;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line IIII of FIG. I; and FIG. 3 is a top-plan view of FIG. 1 with the upper transverse frame member or portion removed for clarity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail it will be seen that it shows, particularly in FIG. 1, a door D which is only fragmentarily and somewhat diagrammatically illustrated and which is mounted for swinging movement in a door frame which also is shown only in part. More specifically, the door D is composed of a plurality of profiled sections the upper one of which is identified with reference numeral 13 and all of which extend in horizontal direction. Of the frame, there is shown an upright l and an upper cross member 11, with the lower cross member being also shown and identified with reference numeral 12.

As FIG. 2 shows most clearly, the lateral side walls of the upper profiled member 13 of the door D, which has a quadratic tubular cross-section in the illustrated embodiment, have upwardly projecting extensions 14. A self-acting door-closing unit 15 is accommodated in the interior of the upper transverse frame member 11 and no detailed description will be given of this unit because it is entirely conventional in the art and will present no problems of identification or understanding to those having ordinary skill in this field. It is merely necessary to reiterate that a shaft 16 of the unit 15 projects through an aperture provided for this purpose in the frame member 11 downwardly towards the upper portion 13 of the door D. This shaft, in accordance with conventional practice for such door-closing units, is biased to a rest position which it assumes, if connected to the door D in a manner still to be discussed, when the door is in closed position. Consequently, when the doors moves to open position the shaft 16 is forcibly turned out of the rest position, stressing the biasing means further so that the latter causes the shaft and the door to return to rest position, in which the door is closed, when the force which has moved the door from closed to open position ceases to act upon it.

In the illustrated embodiment the shaft 16 constitutes the upper pivot for the door D whereas a lower pivot 17 is provided in conventional manner.

The shaft 16 is connected with the portion 13 of the door D in non-rotatable relationship-that is nonrotatable with reference to the door D itselfby means of the inventive coupling means 18. In essence, the coupling means 18 comprises an elongated coupling member 19 which extends in the direction of width of the door, that is when the door is closed it will extend between the two uprights of the frame of which one is shown, namely the upright 10. The member 19 is mounted on the door D, or rather on the upper portion 13 thereof, with limited freedom of shifting longitudinally of itself, for which purpose it is secured to the portion 13 by means of a screw 27 which extends through an elongated aperture 19a provided in the member 19, with the elongation of the aperture corresponding to the elongation of the member 19. Preferably, the member 19 should also be pivotable between and with reference to the side wall portions 14.

Advantageously although not necessarily a stripshaped base plate is provided, interposed between the portion 13 of the door and the member 19; in the illustrated embodiment the plate member 20 is provided on the end which in FIGS. 1 and 3 is at the right-hand side of the drawing, with upwardly extending ears or abutments 21 which cooperating with adjusting screws 22 threaded through the free end of the member 19 from mutually opposite sides of the latter, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Depending upon the extent to which the respective screws 22 are threaded into or out of the tapped bores provided for this purpose in the free end of the member 19, the latter may pivot to some small extent with reference to the plate 20 and the abutments 21.

The plate 20 itself is fixedly connected with the portion 13, for instance by being screwed to the latter as illustrated, by being weldedif the materials are suitable-or being otherwise secured. In that portion which in FIGS. 1 and 3 is towards the left-hand side of the drawing, the coupling member 19 rises until it reaches almost the upper edges 14a of the side wall portions 14, as shown in FIG. 1-. This highest portion is followed by a step and a lower portion or tongue 23 the height of which corresponds approximately to that of a socket member constructed as a pin or projection 24 which projects from and is fast with the plate 20, is in the illustrated embodiment of round cross-section and guides in a tapped bore a pressure screw 25 which extends in the direction of the width of the door as illustrated and which can be threaded deeper into and farther out of the tapped bore in the abutment 24. The apertures 25a are provided in the door for the purpose of affording access to the crew 25, as for instance by inserting a screwdriver through these apertures to turn the screw 25 in the desired sense. Naturally it would be necessary, when the door is already hung in the frame, to open the door to gain access to the apertures 25a. As the drawing shows, particularly FIG. 1, the outwardly directed face of the socket or abutment 24 is approximately located in the plane of the upwardly directed face of the tongue 23, and the socket 24 is located in a slot 26 which bifurcates the left-hand end portion (in FIGS. 1 and 3) of the tongue 23. The pressure screw 25 abuts against the bottom of the bifurcation as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and when it is turned in a sense threading it deeper into its cooperating tapped bore, the pressure screw presses against the member 19 and effects displacement of the latter with reference to the door D; because the shaft 16 is fast with the member 19 as will still be discussed, this results in a displacement of the door with reference to the shaft 16.

As shown particularly clearly in FIG. 3, the shaft 16 is of polygonal cross-section and extends into a vertical recess provided for this purpose in the member 19 as illustrated and particularly clearly seen in FIG. 3. The recess is bridged by a bridging member 28 which is elongated in the direction of the thickness of the door D and provided with a similar recess in which another portion of the cross-section of the shaft 16 is accommodated. The bridging member 28 is drawn tightly towards the upstanding portion of the member 19 by the screws 29 so that the shaft 16 is tightly clamped between them without possibility of turning with reference to the door D. The bridging member 28 may but need not be rested on the upper surface of the gone 23.

By resorting to the present invention the bridging member 28 may extend transversely to the width of the door, that is across the thickness of the latter. The thickness is of course that dimension of the door which in FIG. 3 extends between the upper and the lower edges of the figure, whereas the width of the door is in FIG. 3 and in FIG. 2 the distance from the left-hand edge towards the right-hand edge of the respective figure, and in fact beyond because the-entire width of the door is not shown. Despitethis advantageous arrangement of the bridging arrangement 28, the advantages of which have already been pointed out earlier, the member 19 can readily be adjusted with reference to the doorand thus the axis of the shaft 16 displaced with reference to the door-by the pressure screw 25 which is readily accessible with this arrangement. Because of the stepped construction of the member 19, and the corresponding arrangement of the components 24 and 28, a door provided with the invention can be mounted in a frame without any difficulties. It goes without saying that the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawing is nothing more than that, namely an example. Various other embodiments will offer themselves readily vto those skilled in the art. Also, the limitation in accordance with the present invention, of the height of the bridging member 28 to a portion of the total maximum height of the member 19, that is to the difference between the height of the tongue 23 and the height of the thickest or highest portion of the member 19, can advantageously be utilized even if the bridging member 28 should be so mounted that it extends in the direction of the width of the door rather than in the direction of the thickness of the latter illustrated in the drawing.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a door-closing arrangement, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristic of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. An arrangement of the character described, comprising a frame having a transversely extending upper frame member; a door swingably mounted in said frame and having an upper portion adjacent said frame member; a door-closing unit accommodated in said frame member and having a shaft projecting downwardly towards said upper portion and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position; and coupling means coupling said shaft with said door so that said shaft is turned from said rest position in response to swinging .of said door, said coupling means comprising a coupling member extending along said upper portion of said door and having one portion of greater height at one axial side of said shaft and an other portion of lesser height provided with a free end face and located at the opposite axial side of said shaft, connecting means connecting said coupling member to said door with'limited freedom of displacement along said upper portion thereof, displacing means acting upon said free end face for effecting such limited displacement, a discrete cross-head at least in part overlying said other portion of said coupling member and having a height substantially corresponding to the difference between said greater and lesser heights, and securing means securing said crosshead to said one portion so that said shaft is clamped between them against rotation relative to said door.

2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, said displacing means comprising a strip-shaped mounting plate interposed between said coupling member and said door and fixed to the latter, an abutment on said mounting plate adjacent one longitudinal end of said coupling member and provided with a tapped bore aligned with the elongation of said coupling member, and a threaded element extending through said bore in meshing relationship and having a leading end portion adapted to exert pressure against said longitudinal end in a sense effecting displacement of said coupling element. 1

3. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, said one portion having an upper face directed towards said frame member, and said abutment having an upwardly directed upper end face at least substantially coincident with said upper face.

4. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, said door having a predetermined width and said upper portion extending along and being coincident with said width, and wherein said other portion and said cross-head are located at opposite axial sides of said shaft with reference to said width; said securing means urging said cross-head towards said other portion in direction longitudinally of said upper portion.

5. An arrangement as defined in claim 4, said one portion having an upper face directed towards said cross-head and said frame portion; and wherein said threaded element abuts against said longitudinal end below the plane of said upper face.

6. An arrangement as defined in claim 5, wherein said longitudinal end is provided on said one portion, said coupling element having an additional longitudinal end spaced from the first-mentioned longitudinal end; and further comprising shifting means for shifting said additional longitudinal end transversely of the width of said door.

7. An arrangement as defined in claim 6, said shifting means comprising a pair of abutments provided on said in untin l te in the re ion and at o osite lateral si es of sa id additional lgngitudinal en d and spaced transversely of the width of said door, and threaded means on said additional longitudinal end cooperating with the same and with said abutments for effecting shifting of said additional longitudinal end with reference to said abutments.

8. An arrangement as defined in claim 7, said threaded means comprising a first threaded member threaded through said additional longitudinal end from one lateral side of said coupling element and having at the other lateral side thereof a free end adapted to bear upon one of said abutments, and a second threaded member through said additional longitudinal end from the other lateral side of said coupling element and having at said one lateral side a free end adapted to bear upon the other of said abutments. 

1. An arrangement of the character described, comprising a frame having a transversely extending upper frame member; a door swingably mounted in said frame and having an upper portion adjacent said frame member; a door-closing unit accommodated in said frame member and having a shaft projecting downwardly towards said upper portion and which is permanently biased for turning movement towards a rest position; and coupling means coupling said shaft with said door so that said shaft is turned from said rest position in response to swinging of said door, said coupling means comprising a coupling member extending along said upper portion of said door and having one portion of greater height at one axial side of said shaft and an other portion of lesser height provided with a free end face and located at the opposite axial side of said shaft, connecting means connecting said coupling member to said door with limited freedom of displacement along said upper portion thereof, displacing means acting upon said free end face for effecting such limited displacement, a discrete cross-head at least in part overlying said other portion of said coupling member and having a height substantially corresponding to the difference between said greater and lesser heights, and securing means securing said cross-head to said one portion so that said shaft is clamped between them against rotation relative to said door.
 2. An arrangement as defined in claim 1, said displacing means comprising a strip-shaped mounting plate interposed between said coupling member and said door and fixed to the latter, an abutment on said mounting plate adjacent one longitudinal end of said coupling member and provided with a tapped bore aligned with the elongation of said coupling member, and a threaded element extending through said bore in meshing relationship and having a leading end portion adapted to exert pressure against said longitudinal end in a sense effecting displacement of said coupling element.
 3. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, said one portion having an upper face directed towards said frame member, and said abutment having an upwardly directed upper end face at least substantially cOincident with said upper face.
 4. An arrangement as defined in claim 2, said door having a predetermined width and said upper portion extending along and being coincident with said width, and wherein said other portion and said cross-head are located at opposite axial sides of said shaft with reference to said width; said securing means urging said cross-head towards said other portion in direction longitudinally of said upper portion.
 5. An arrangement as defined in claim 4, said one portion having an upper face directed towards said cross-head and said frame portion; and wherein said threaded element abuts against said longitudinal end below the plane of said upper face.
 6. An arrangement as defined in claim 5, wherein said longitudinal end is provided on said one portion, said coupling element having an additional longitudinal end spaced from the first-mentioned longitudinal end; and further comprising shifting means for shifting said additional longitudinal end transversely of the width of said door.
 7. An arrangement as defined in claim 6, said shifting means comprising a pair of abutments provided on said mounting plate in the region and at opposite lateral sides of said additional longitudinal end and spaced transversely of the width of said door, and threaded means on said additional longitudinal end cooperating with the same and with said abutments for effecting shifting of said additional longitudinal end with reference to said abutments.
 8. An arrangement as defined in claim 7, said threaded means comprising a first threaded member threaded through said additional longitudinal end from one lateral side of said coupling element and having at the other lateral side thereof a free end adapted to bear upon one of said abutments, and a second threaded member through said additional longitudinal end from the other lateral side of said coupling element and having at said one lateral side a free end adapted to bear upon the other of said abutments. 